Virginia Tech Football: Vick Must Become Hokies' Leader

David Teel

August 31, 2005|By DAVID TEEL Daily Press

Voted conference player of the year; bypassed by the NFL. The undrafted-but-not-unloved conclusion to Bryan Randall's Virginia Tech career places him in mighty fine company and reveals the primary challenge facing the Hokies in 2005.

Combine that with damn good numbers and you get an improbable ACC championship and the no-duh choice as the all-conference quarterback and player of the year.

How to overcome Randall's absence? Talent isn't an issue. Coach Frank Beamer says his program never has been better stocked at quarterback, not to mention wide receiver.

There are running backs aplenty, a potentially frightening defensive front seven and a shutdown corner.

If talent is the sole gauge, then pencil Virginia Tech into the inaugural ACC championship game, Dec. 3 in Jacksonville, Fla.

But talent rarely, if ever, is the sole measure. Just ask Beamer.

"Last year I felt like we were a little bit good and awful lucky, very, very lucky," he said.

And ask returning tight end Jeff King.

"Chemistry," he said, "put us over the top."

Randall was the mad scientist, concocting just the proper mix -- with ample help from fellow seniors Eric Green and Vincent Fuller.

OK, so the tape geeks and workout freaks who run the NFL determined that Randall didn't fit their draft profile. (Randall signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Falcons and could make their practice squad). Other ACC chemists felt the same sting.

Clemson's Steve Fuller in 1978, Wake Forest's Jay Venuto in '79 and North Carolina State's Erik Kramer in '86: Each was a quarterback, the ACC player of the year and the architect of a benchmark season. None was drafted, but upon exiting campus, each saw his team decline.

'Twas not coincidence, and Virginia Tech best be careful.

"Luckily it's not a drastic turnover," King said of the Hokies' personnel. "It's not like it's a new depth chart. We know what it means to have team chemistry. We know what it means to win big games. It's almost priceless. It's a cliche, going out and playing for each other, but it's true."

Doubters need only rewind to 2003, when a more gifted Virginia Tech opened the season 6-0, only to splinter and limp home 8-5.

With the credibility that comes with talent and experience, King, a no-nonsense senior, could become this team's Randall. So, too, could defensive end Darryl Tapp or cornerback Jimmy Williams.

But ideally you want the authority figure at quarterback, the game's most critical and visible position. At Virginia Tech that means junior Marcus Vick.

Maybe Vick has matured. Maybe he learned from the unseemly antics that landed him a richly deserved season-long suspension. But he's got to prove it, on the field and off, for months on end.

No, he need not be Randall, nor brother Michael, another quarterback of some repute.

He'd be crazy to try. But for Virginia Tech to thrive, Vick needs to earn his teammates' trust and respect.

"He understands that he's the leader," Beamer said. "A lot of people are counting on him. That quarterback's got to be the guy for you. ... Trust me, this is a talented guy who can establish his own name."

Vick, according to King, has "bought into" the team concept. "He didn't turn off the TV for 12 months. He knows what was going on. He's talked to the team and we've talked to him."

Beamer has spoken, too, citing the reigning champions of professional football and basketball. Neither leads its league in player salaries or tabloid appearances. Neither is held hostage by superstars.

But the New England Patriots have won three titles in the last four seasons, the San Antonio Spurs three in the last seven.

"As much money and ego that's up there in pro football, that team is talking about what it takes to win, what they can do to help the team win, playing together," Beamer said. "Then you take the San Antonio Spurs. Their big deal coming down the stretch was the sacrifice people would make. Tim Duncan: I promise you he'll do whatever it takes for that team to win. Tom Brady is the same way (for the Patriots).

"Your top people have to be that way. It's just a proven fact. You've got to be unselfish. You've got to care about your (teammates). That's what winning teams do."

David Teel can be reached at 247-4636 or by e-mail at dteel@dailypress.com *